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Base cuts costs with renewable energyThe project is the first Air Force initiative of its kind in the continental United States and is a joint effort between the base and Headquarters Air Force Space Command.

F.E. WARREN AFB, Wyo. – Two wind turbines, like this one from Ascension Island in the south Atlantic, are being built here. Warren’s wind farm will provide a renewable energy source for more than 500 homes annually. Construction began June 2. Completion is expected in September.

F.E. WARREN AFB, Wyo. – Renewable energy will soon power homes here as construction of two 900-kilowatt wind turbines began June 2.
The project is the first Air Force initiative of its kind in the continental United States and is a joint effort between the base and Headquarters Air Force Space Command.

AFSPC is the only Air Force command to have wind farms on its bases. Ascension Island, in the south Atlantic, was the first AFSPC wind farm with four turbines erected in 1998 and an additional two units installed in 2003.

The turbines will help Warren comply with an executive order to use renewable energy sources while helping the base meet its annual energy goals, according to Lt. Col. Joe Ballard, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron commander.

“Wind turbines are a perfect green energy source for Warren,” said Ken Davis, Warren’s Wind Turbine Project Manager. “We have plenty of wind, an ample window of free space, and the economies of payback make them a cost-effective alternative [to coal- or gas-generated electricity].”

The wind farm, which is being built within the western perimeter of the base, can produce enough energy to power 522 homes annually, according to Mr. Davis. The turbines will provide roughly 10 percent of F.E. Warren’s main base electricity.

The project is scheduled to be completed in late September or early October. Funding, a little more than $2.5 million, came from the Department of Defense Energy Conservation Investment Program. The turbines will pay for themselves in approximately 12 years and have a 15- to 20-year lifespan.

AMEC Earth and Environmental, an international project management and services company with offices in Lakewood, Colo., is the contractor.

Warren energy officials plan to build two to three additional turbines on base as more funding becomes available.

625th Strategic Operations Squadron Activated at Offutt AFBJun. 14, 2007By 55th Wing Public AffairsIn a ceremony held today in the shadow of the Minuteman I Intercontinental Ballistic Missile outside USSTRATCOM Headquarters, Major General Thomas Deppe, commander Twentieth Air Force and STRATCOM Task Force 214 activated the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron. The 625th is a tenant unit on Offutt AFB and reports directly to 20 AF, located at Frances E. Warren AFB in Wyoming.

US Responds to Putin's Call for Meeting on Forces in EuropeMay 29, 2007By Al Pessin, VOA WashingtonA Pentagon spokesman says the United States would be "disappointed" if Russia stopped meeting its obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty. The comment came the day after Russia called for a meeting of the treaty's signatory nations next month. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.